Category acquired things

Manfrotto 3001BPRO Tripod and 3047 Deluxe Three-Way Pan Head
(Click for more photos from this album…)

Finally, I’ve acquired a new tripod to replace my rather flimsy (and undersized for a DSLR) Velbon S-4000 which I purchased back in 1992 or 1995 to use with my Nikon 5005.

After talking a lot with about the tripod he has and poking around the Bogen / Manfrotto, I decided on what you see above. That is, the 3001BPRO Tripod and the 3047 Deluxe Three-Way Pan Head.

All in all, I have to say that it seems like a really nice tripod. The head is still fairly greasy (this will wear off) and some things on it are still a bit snug (leg locks, especially), and I have to become used to it, but I think that it’ll be nice. I think the most difficult part for me to become accustomed to will be how it rotates the camera into portrait mode. This tripod flips the camera up differently than my previous one. That is, to the left instead of the right. It’ll just take some time. Manfrotto makes an interesting L-shaped adapter for one’s camera called an Elbow Bracket (#3288) which I may have to look into. It would make switching between portrait and landscape trivial and always an exact 90º. Well, maybe somewhere in the future.

Anyway, bed soon. Goodnight.

Hmm, so I’ve been thinking about a new camera lens. After reading reviews of the standardish zoom that I have, I’ve come to have the impression that it’s a pretty good lens, so I think I’ll stick with it.

That said, I’m thinking that it might be nice to get something a bit wider angle. Sigma offers the 10-20mm F4-5.6 EX DC HSM which looks fairly promising. It runs US$500 or so.

Mind if I ask if any of you have opinions on it?

The other lens I’m thinking would be nice to get is the Tokina AT-X 840 AF-II. It’s a 80-400mm zoom, and with that I’d have just about everything covered with zooms. Nothing especially fast, but it’s reasonable. It’s $650 and not quite available yet.

Now I’m wanting to sell my Canon EF-S 17-85 f4-5.6 IS lens and get this one instead. 28-80 f2.8 all the way across…

Only problems I can see is that it lacks IS, but it’s a lot faster. And a bit narrower range zoom-wise… I’d probably need something wide angle. And IS works all the time. With this lens I’d just have to open it up a bit, decreasing DOF….etc.

Hrm, decisions… decisions…

Cost is pretty much not an issue since I could sell one to pay for the other. But I did just get a circular polarizing filter for the Canon lens. I wouldn’t be able to re-use it, as the new lens would be 1cm larger. Hrm.

Oh, also, do any of you know a place where I could get some velvet? I could use white, black, and maybe red. Maybe… 4′ square pieces. I want something for the background when photographing things, but I want it to be non-reflective and not especially well defined.

Wow, the lenses I mentioned the other day are excellent. The Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II is really… interesting. It’s amazingly light, takes really nice images, and seems to be a lot nicer than I expected. The focusing ring only moves about 1/4 turn which is great to operate with a fingertip. It also seems almost weightless, which makes me think I’ll keep it on the camera a lot. It’s also dirt cheap.

The Tokina 100mm f/2.8 AT-X 100 PRO D Macro seems excellent as well. Despite the cheesy (and strangely Asian-looking) gold accents and lettering, it feels better made than any lens I’ve yet been able to use. It feels ridiculously solid, and it’s just a dream to use. It also focuses much faster than I expected. Also, a 100mm 1:1 lens just seems EXCELLENT. Focused at the closest, something just past the lens hood. Oh! And the lens hood can be stored on the lens hood reversed, which is just *great*. The Canons don’t do that.

Well, first off, both of my auctions sold via buy-it-now. This is good, especially as I purchased the lenses for less than they actually sold for. Not much less, but I didn’t lose any money.

Second, after talking a bunch with a bunch about lenses, I ended up ordering two lenses instead of the single Canon 60mm macro I had been previously considering.

What I ended up getting is the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II which is an especially cheap 50mm lens which receives some great reviews. It’s less than $80 shipped, and almost every review I read of it says that it’s an excellent lens just to have around.

The second lens I ordered, which also receives excellent reviews, is the Tokina 100mm f/2.8 AT-X 100 PRO D Macro. It’ll do 1:1 (life-size) at 30cm, and seems to be pretty well made.

So, the end result is that for an additional ~$100 I’m getting a 100mm 1:1 macro, a 50mm walk-around / portrait / whatever lens, and protective filters for both. Also, the Tokina comes with a hood in the package….

Well, I put my macro lens up for sale on eBay. Hopefully I’ll net just over $400 after I sell it.

On top of my grey market question from previously, is there any reason you all can see not to buy a refurb lens? I can get the lens in question (the Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM) for $299 refurbished, $379 grey market, or $384 new. I’m really thinking I should go with the $299 refurb one, as that’s a huge savings. The lens hood will add another $27 or so, but that’s all right.

The auctions I’ve posted can be seen at the following two URLs, which will become active after 10:00pm EDT and 10:30pm EDT respectively:

Canon EF 50mm f/2.5 Compact Macro — LIKE NEW 50
Canon Life-Size Converter EF – Like New! Macro 50mm 50

If any of you would like to buy either of these pieces, please let me know before the auctions start so that I can cancel them.